The Board of Alders of the City of Willard voted on a package of land‑use changes at the meeting: the board adopted amendments to allow mixed‑use development and to reinstate plan development districts (PDDs), and it adopted updated floodplain-management regulations aligned to revised FEMA maps. Separately, the board postponed the second reading on a new accessory‑dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance to give aldermen and members of the public additional time to review standards such as size limits, height/setback rules and owner‑occupancy requirements.

Planning staff described the mixed‑use provision as allowing property eligible on the city’s future‑land‑use map to be rezoned and developed with a combination of multi‑family residential and commercial uses. The PDD language restores an overlay that permits smaller lot sizes in exchange for increased common area and amenities and includes minimum frontage and setback standards and density-to‑open‑space tradeoffs.

City staff presented the floodplain amendment as an administrative update necessary to keep the city’s flood-insurance eligibility and to implement FEMA’s finalized 2018 maps. Staff also said the city is transferring the floodplain administrator role from one staff member to another to balance workloads; the change is administrative and does not materially alter map adoption.

On accessory dwelling units, planning staff and aldermen discussed several controls the draft ordinance would impose: (1) one ADU per single‑family parcel; (2) ADU area limited to the lesser of 80% of the primary dwelling or the table limit set by lot size; (3) two‑bedroom maximum for ADUs; (4) ADUs must be architecturally compatible with the primary dwelling and surrounding homes; and (5) for existing structures the owner must be a legal conforming property owner at the time of application. Staff said the ordinance also requires owner occupancy at the time of application — intended to discourage third‑party investors from immediately converting properties to wholly rental portfolios — and said ADUs cannot be separately subdivided and sold unless the property meets standard zoning subdivision criteria.

Aldermen and staff discussed accessory‑structure height limits tied to setbacks: an accessory building within 3 feet of a property line may be limited to 8 feet tall, at 5 feet the allowable height grows to 10 feet, 15 feet setback allows 15‑foot height, and full setback allows up to 24 feet. The proposed graduated height standard is intended to reduce neighbor conflicts caused by tall accessory buildings placed close to property lines.

After extended discussion — including questions about whether ADUs could lead to short‑term rentals, tax implications and how design standards would be enforced — aldermen voted to split the ordinance process: the board completed first readings on the ADU provisions but postponed the second reading and final vote to the next meeting to allow more constituent input and final refinements.

Separately, the council approved the mixed‑use and PDD ordinances and adopted the updated floodplain regulations (the motions and recorded votes appear in the public minutes). Staff said the ADU topic will return to a future agenda with clarified language on setbacks, owner‑occupancy verification and design standards.

The changes affect how developers and homeowners can use residential and mixed‑use parcels in Willard; the administration said the goal is to create options for compatible density while protecting neighborhood character and insuring floodplain compliance under federal rules.